Posted on 08/04/2006 7:39:05 AM PDT by bobsunshine
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he would welcome German troops participating in an international force in southern Lebanon, according to a newspaper interview published Friday.
German officials have not ruled out contributing soldiers to a security force, but Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that "we as Germans should approach this region with the greatest caution."
Some have speculated over what would happen if German troops were forced into a position of conflict with Israeli soldiers, or if the weight of the Nazi-era past clouded the Germans' ability to make crucial split-second decisions.
Olmert said he told Merkel that Israel has "absolutely no problem with German soldiers in southern Lebanon."
"Why should German soldiers shoot at Israel? They would be part of the force protecting Israel," Olmert was quoted as saying in the interview with the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
"There is at the moment no nation that is behaving in a more friendly way toward Israel than Germany," he added. "If Germany can contribute to the security of the Israeli people, that would be a worthwhile task for your country. I would be very happy if Germany participated."
Berlin has avoided direct criticism of the Jewish state since fighting broke out last month, repeatedly underscoring its right to self-defense, and has called for a cease-fire "as quickly as possible" rather than immediately.
Merkel insists that Germany cannot consider a contribution until a UN mandate is in place. She also has pointed to the fact the German military is already stretched, with troops deployed from the Balkans to Afghanistan.
Still, Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung - a member of her conservative Christian Democrats - has suggested that if all sides were to ask for a contribution, then Germany would have to oblige.
Germany has been calling on Syria - a key supporter of the Lebanon-based Hizbullah - to play a constructive part in defusing the crisis.
"If Germany wants to talk to Syria, no one is going to stop Germany doing that," Olmert was quoted as saying. "But I harbor doubts about Syria's intentions."
"If Syria really wanted to take on a positive role, the country would have many possibilities," he added. "It has rejected them all."
So we are not the jew eating satans anymore, if they need some people to stand between hisbollah and them ?
Talk about your irony...
Israel has enjoyed cordial relations with Germany for almost 60 years and has always welcomed German tourists, students and businessmen.
It is precisely because Israel has such trust in Germany as an ally and friend that it is suggesting that German peacekeepers get involved in the reconstruction of Lebanon - probably because so many countries that supply large numbers of peacekeepers, like Nigeria and Pakistan, cannot be trusted to send fairminded personnel.
This is a small step the german people can take to make up for what their ancestors did 65 yrs ago.
The German National Socialist Labor Party chapter of history taught the (sane part of) world that even otherwise normal, rational, cultured, and educated societies can be swept up into insanity given appropriate circumstances and criminal political leadership. I wouldn't take it too personally, quite the contrary, it's complimentary if you read between the lines.
Being a WWII buff and having a father that saw extensive combat from the beginning to the end of the war, three of my weirdest experiences were
1. Hearing German accents from all the black hats during jump week in 1972.
2. Getting on a Luftwaffe plane in Germany with German paratroopers,when I was getting my German wings.
3. Touring a Japanese destroyer that was visiting San Diego.
Germans are better than the French if you had to choose.
Fuhrer, Befiehl, Wir Folgen
(Go Israel, Go! Slap 'Em Down Hezbullies.)
Funny that there's always more people around allowing you to make something good on them then people wanting to make something good on you.
???
Theyve taken plenty of steps, small and big, including supplying all of Israels submarine fleet for almost free.
Well, sure, as has been shown, Israel can. They've simply learned from the past. The last occupation was very costly and they're smart not to want to try again. In any case, lasting peace requires the commitment of the Lebanese government and they may come more easily with German troops rather than Israeli.
I live in a town that has one of the biggest jewish communities in germany - and I am proud that we can live together and they like it here although we have a lot of shiites in this town either. We just finished celebrating the new synagogue.
So, no I am not against german military guarding the innocent people of haifa.
What I cannot stand are the people generously allowing us to make something good or demanding that we do something to deminish our guilt. There's been a lot of this "cash in the holocaust" talk.
Whenever there's military aid to israel involved some israeli smart a. turns up and allowes us to make something good because of the holocaust. Hard not to puke in this case.
I don't want to make something good for my grandfathers neighbour - and god knows I don't have to.
I want our society to protect those who love peace and freedom and apfelstrudel. No matter what believe they share.
If needs must and all that, then it shall be done with a G 36 if submarines and budgets for joined weapons research projects are not enough - like in this case.
Actually I get the impression we are running into a global overstretch regarding the WOT - and that means all of us.
Well, you guys do still owe them.
And Munich didn't help things...
Why not, indeed? The West could use a few more active partners.
Wow, if we're getting overstretched already, we might as well not fight, it's a long way from over, and why lose anymore of our fine military men is we're just going to quit. Maybe we can just defend America, and hell with the rest of the world? Y'all can just defend Germany, k?
Seems to me that expanding military is a good way to reduce unemployment.
What a DUMB AND SILLY LINE FOR THIS PICTURE OF ROMMEL! Rommel was NOT someone who blindly followed Hitler! In fact, he was forced to committ suicide because he was opposed to Hitler. Rommel refused to shoot allied POW, and he also had connections to the military resistance that lead to the (failed) assassination of Hitler on July 20th 1944. Every other General Field Marshall can be called a whatever, but not Rommel.
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